First published on TechNet on Mar 30, 2016
Updated: 8/20/21 - Post refresh.
By Steve Bucci - Senior Support Escalation Engineer | Microsoft Enterprise Cloud Group
When contacting Microsoft Support for help with Microsoft Intune, Enterprise Mobility Suite (EMS), mobile device management (MDM), or mobile application management, there are a few best practices to keep in mind. This article outlines the information we need to help expedite a resolution for your incident.
Describing Your Issue
An accurate description of your issue or question can give your Support Engineer important information to research before you are even contacted. We’d love to call you back with the answer straight away, and the more information you can give us when the case is opened, the better chance we have of quickly resolving your issue. We have to scope each ticket down to the core problem, and accurate information and a detailed description of the issue helps get this done. We don’t mind spending time with you to understand an issue and agree upon a clear goal, but we always appreciate the proactive collaboration.
For example, if you simply describe your issue as “Launched the console and got an error,” it doesn’t give us much to start with.
BETTER: When I launch the Intune Admin console and try to add an APNs certificate I get an error that the certificate isn’t valid.
BEST: I recently took over admin duties for Intune and I’m trying to configure enrollment for iOS devices. I obtained a new APNs certificate from Apple but when I try to upload the certificate from the Intune console I get the error “ The APNs certificate doesn’t match.” It also says “ You are trying to upload a new certificate rather than renew your existing certificate . ” I’m not aware of anyone at my company trying to set this up before but I need to be able to configure Intune to use my new APNs certificate.
It’s always best if you can be as specific as possible and tell us what you are ultimately trying to accomplish. It matters if you are having an issue with device management, application management, enrollment, or administration. Let us know the device types, OS, application, observed behavior, expected behavior, etc.
Documenting with Images
Screen captures can often eliminate any vagueness or misunderstanding when working on an issue. We always appreciate getting them, especially when they are included initially in a ticket. Any files you upload to your case during the ticket submission process are saved securely to protect your company and personal information. Just like a good description, a good file name will provide even greater clarity, so instead of naming your image file something like DCIM07.PNG, use a more descriptive name such as Error after adding APN cert.PNG.
BEST: Use the Steps Recorder built into Windows to easily record the exact steps and images while you reproduce the issue. Depending on your OS, this may be called the Problem Steps Recorder. The easiest way to find it is to type “steps” in the Start menu search or Cortana.
Information we ALWAYS need
- Your tenant domain or company ID. For more information see Domains FAQ.
- Are you using Intune for mobile device management (MDM)?
- If so, is this Intune standalone or integrated with Configuration Manager?
- If not, are you using Office 365 or a 3rd Party MDM solution?
- Has this ever worked?
- Are we dealing with a new issue or has something broken? If this is something that never worked, it might just be a configuration issue or something the product isn’t designed to do. If it is broken, then we know it worked before. This distinction gives us direction where to look and what to collect. If it worked before, let us know when you first started experiencing the problem.
- Device management or application management?
- This is another important distinction and gives a direction to focus. Hopefully this was already made clear in the description of the issue.
- Device management – have you completed all steps in the documentation?
- iOS: Enroll iOS/iPadOS devices in Intune in Microsoft Intune
- macOS: Set up enrollment for macOS devices
- Android: Enroll Android devices in Intune
- Windows: Intune enrollment methods for Windows devices
- Application management
- Is this mobile application management (MAM) without enrollment, or for enrolled devices?
- What are the applications?
- What kind of device are you seeing the issue?
When you call Microsoft for help with one of our products, we want to do everything we can to provide the best support experience in the world. Hopefully this information helps you, and as a Support Engineer, I promise you that it will help us.
If you have any questions, reply to this post or reach out to @IntuneSuppTeam on Twitter.
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